Above & Beyond – Black Room Boy (Above & Beyond Club Mix)

After weeks of hype and airtime, Above & Beyond’s club mix for “Black Room Boy” has finally dropped on Anjunabeats. In all honesty, this isn’t my favorite thing the trio has put out by any stretch — while I do like the way they’ve refashioned the chord progression in the chorus, I think the overall sound is a little generic. Of course, it’s not objectively bad by any means; it successfully takes the dark, Pet Shop Boys-ish vibe of the original and gives it a harder edged spin, and that’s generally the aim of their club mixes. It’s also guaranteed to appeal to a broader audience (think a large festival event). But at the end of the day this will always be a third or fourth tier A&B track to me — that’s just what happens when you’ve set the bar as high as Tony, Jono and Paavo have. Don’t just take my word for it, however; give it a listen and let us know what you think.